Self-closing safety pin



June 1, 1954 T. c. CHALK SELF-CLOSING SAFETY PIN Filed Sept. 18, 1950 Inventor Thomas 6. Chalk Patented June 1, 1954 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE 1 Claim.

This invention comprises novel and useful improvements in a self-closing safety pin and more specifically pertains to a safety pin construction in which the pointed end of the pin is normally closed by a closure cap, spring urged to closing position, and which is manually operated and held in its open position when it is desired to use the point of the safety pin.

The primary object of this invention is to provide a safety pin construction in which a guard or shield is employed to normally receive and protect the point of a safety pin and normally retain the safety pin in a closed position to thereby prevent the possibility of the pin injuring children or penetrating material inadvertently.

Yet another object of the invention is to provide a closure cap for safety pins which shall be spring urged into*a position for closing the ends of the safety pin body and which in a closed position will eificiently receive, enclose and protect the end of a safety pin.

A further object of the invention is to provide a safety pin in conformity with the foregoing objects in which the closure cap shall be pivotally connected to and receive the bifurcated end of one leg of a safety pin and shall be capable of pivotal movement for receiving and protecting the pointed end of a safety pin.

Yet another object of the invention is to provide a closure cap for safety pins as set forth in the foregoing objects in which a resilient means shall be housed within the closure cap and within the bifurcated end of one leg of a safety pin for yielding and urging the cap into a pin closing position, and yet permitting the cap to be pivoted to an open position when it is desired to utilize the point of the pin.

These, together with various ancillary features and objects of the invention, which will later become apparent as the forward description proceeds, are retained by the present invention, a preferred embodiment of which has been illustrated, by way of example only, in the accompanying drawings, wherein:

Figure 1 is a side elevational view of a safety pin incorporating therein the principles of this invention, the pin being shown in its closed position;

Figure 2 is an end elevational view of the safety pin in Figure 1, taken from the right end thereof;

Figure 3 is a vertical central longitudinal sectional view through the safety pin of Figure 1 but on a large scale, parts being shown in elevation, and the pin being shown in its closed position;

Figure 4 is a view similar to Figure 3 but show- 2 ing the closure cap of the pin in its open position;

Figure 5 is a top plan view of the pin of Figure l in closed position with the pointed end of the pin being shown in dash lines;

Figure 6 is a horizontal sectional view taken substantially upon the plane indicated by the section line 6-5 of Figure 3 and illustrating certain details of construction of the closure cap, its pivotal connection and the associated part of the pin; and,

Figure 7 is a horizontal sectional view taken substantially upon the plane indicated by the section line 1-'l of Figure 3 and showing the manner in which the guard means of the closure cap is adapted to receive and embrace the pointed end of the pin.

Referring now more specifically to the accompanying drawings, wherein like numerals designate similar parts throughout the various views, it will be seen that the improved pin according to the principles of this invention, consists of but four parts, namely a U-shaped body portion I 0, a closure cap I2 a pivot I4 connecting the cap to one leg of the body and a spring 16 urging the closure cap into its closed position.

The safety pin in accordance with this invention may be constructed of any desired and suitable material, and obviously may be fabricated in a variety of forms. The arrangement chosen to illustrate the principles of this invention, is to be considered as illustrative thereof and not as a limitation thereon. As illustrated, the body I0 conveniently comprises a single U-shaped member which may conveniently be formed of sheet metal or the like and preferably is of a somewhat resilient nature. The body includes a pair of substantially parallel legs I8 and 20, the latter being provided with a pointed end 22, the legs being joined by a web portion 24 preferably somewhat thickened so as to impart the necessary strength and resiliency to the legs of the As will be readily apparent from Figures 6 and '7, the legs [8 and 20 may conveniently be formed as channel members so as to give greater strength when employing thin sheet metal materials for the body portion.

The closure cap may conveniently be of a suitable plastic, metal, or any other moldable material and comprises a pair of side walls 26 which are in parallel spaced relation with respect to each other and which at their inner edges are curved as shown at 28. Between the side walls 26 there is provided a recess 30in the closure the end of the leg 3 cap which recess receives and pivotally secures l8 and also houses the spring [6.

For this purpose, as shown best in Figure 6, the end of the leg [3 is bifurcated and the furcations thereof are apertured to pivotally receive the pivot pin I l which extends through the furcations of the leg l8 and also through the side walls 26 of the closure cap l2. As will be readily seen from Figures 3 and 4, the upper portion of the closure cap overlies the outer surface of the leg 18 and encloses the bifurcated end of this leg.

The resilient means I8 comprises a helical spring whose central portion is coiled upon the midportion of the pivot pin i t between the furcations of the leg [8, which spring has an end portion 32 received within the bifurcated endof the channel shaped leg l8 and anchored or seated thereagainst, while the other leg or end't l of the spring is received within the chamber 30 and rests against the bottom wall of the same. The spring thus yieldingly urges the closure capinto its closed position as shown in Figure 3, at'which time the upper wall of the cap rests upon the outer surface of the leg 18, while the lower portion of the cap embraces and receives the pointed end 22 of the pin.

A very essential part of this invention resides in the provision of a guard means carried by the: closure cap 12 receiving and embracing the pointed end 22 of the pin.

This guard means consists of a groove or recess formed in the lower or bottom surface of the closure cap by mean; of a pair of depending plates 30 and 38. These plates are of such size and shape that they will accommodate the pointed end 22 therebetween and will extend below the bottom surface of the leg 29 as will be apparent from Figure The groove or channel between the plates 30 and 28, has a flat bottom or inner wall or surface Gt against which the inner surface of the leg 20 at the pointed end 22 thereof is received.

The arrangement is such that the closure cap 12 will thus be resiliently urged by the pring it to a normally closed position across the two ends of the legs 18 and 20 and will embrace both of these leg extremities as shown in Figure 3. Thus, the pointed end of the pin is shielded or guarded and enclosed at all times so as to prevent the likelihood of children being injured by the same or prevent the accidental penetration of material, by the pointed end. The closure cap is normally spring urged to its closed position, and is pivoted into the open position shown in Figure 4 by the user when it is desired to expose the pointed end of the pin for use. As soon as the closure cap is released however, the same will 4 promptly be pivoted into its closed position with the aforesaid protecting action.

It should be specifically noted that the two side walls of the bifurcated end of the leg 18, as shown in Figure 6, will be slidingly received against the inside surfaces of the closure cap side walls 26 and will have a guiding elfect thereon. Further, the closure spring I6 is entirely housed within the closure cap where the same is protected against damage and is maintained in a position which will not interfere with the use of the pin for its intended purposes.

From the foregoing, the construction and operation ofthe device will be readily understood and further explanation is believed to be unnecessary. However, since numerous modifications and changes will readily occur to those skilled in the art, it is not desired to limit the inventionto the exact construction shown and described, and accordingly all suitable modificationsaand equivalents may be restorted to, falling within the scope of the appended claim.

Having described the invention, what is claimed as new is:

A self-closing safety pin comprising a U- shapedbody having a pair of legs integrally connected by a web, oneleg having a pointed end, a closure cap pivoted'to the free end of the other leg'and movable between said legs, guard means on said closure cap adapted to enclose the pointed end, wherein said closure cap has a hood embracing the end of the leg to which said cap is pivoted, said end of the leg pivoted tosaid cap being bifurcated, a spring embracing the pivot of the cap and having one end anchored in-said bifurcated leg, theother end of the springengaging said cap, said spring urging the cap into position for closingthe ends of said legs.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date Re. 13,415 Wright May 7, 1912 571,943 Deming Nov. 24, 1896 757,700 Westpfal Apr. 19, 1904 897,470 Liebert Sept. 1, 1908 1,015,603 Wilhjelm Jan. 23, 1912 1,223,425 Savage Apr. 24, 1917 2,038,043 Hasselblad Apr. 21, 1936 2,200,290 -Morris May 14, 1940- 2,227,675 Schwartz Jan. '7, 1941 2,246,495 Alessi June 24, 19M

FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 23,229 Netherlands of 1930 199,856 Switzerland Nov. 16, 1938 

